Faith healer Upa Bieka “back from the dead” (LIVE UPDATE)

Ngampabung (Manipur): A man from Manipur’s Ngampabung village, known for his faith healing prayers, is reportedly “back from the dead” just before being buried by youth volunteers.

Church elder (Upa) VL Bieka, in his mid-60s, was declared dead yesterday at around 11.30 pm and after a night of mourning organised by the village, his mortal remains were to be laid to rest before noon today as per tribal customs.

Villagers, however, “were shocked and happy at the same time to see Pu Bieka’s hands moving” while Hmar Youth Association members were about to put the final nails into his coffin.

Zoramobserver.com cannot independently verify this statement about the man’s words. Some people said, “he didn’t utter any words”.

However, the incident has shocked the villagers. “We were totally amazed and we took him out from the coffin and he is being looked after at home,” village elders allegedly told some local sites like Virthli and Fox Journal.

Zoramobserver.com did its own investigation and we were told that Pu Bieka’s “body remained in the coffin”. “Maybe some people took his body out and place him on a bed after i left for my village,” one man from the next village said not wishing to be identified.

Known as “Faith Healer” for years

Pu Bieka is said to have the gift of prayer healing since many years. Many people have claimed to be a beneficiary of his “prayer healing from God”. “Unlike some people who seek money for prayers, Pu Bieka never asked anyone to perform ‘sacrifices’ to the Lord,” said those who claimed to know him very closely over the years.

The villagers in this region of Pherzawl District have high hope on his power of prayers so much so that some people far from his own village would call him up on a mobile phone to seek his help in locating their lost cattle, keys and many other items besides seeking his prayers for their family members. Some believers also claimed that Pu Bieka was “transported across a river” during floods after praying to God.

Pu Bieka has been suffering from a terminal disease in the last few months.

While, Zoramobserver.com cannot independently confirmed the claims about the “man who heals the sick with prayers”, the circumstances show that he is not leaving the world quietly.

We will continue to update this news below in the form of a timeline as we gather information from direct sources. Keep refreshing your browser.

12:30 pm approx: Villagers claim Pu Bieka’s hands started moving as youths hammered the last nails into the coffin.

12:30 – 6 pm approx: Pu Bieka’s body was taken into the house and villagers claim that his lips also moved. The wait begins. In between, some local reports say that Bieka came back alive and was speaking few words which zoramobserver.com cannot independently verify due to the remote location of the village and poor mobile signal.

7:17 pm: Direct source in the village claimed that “Pu Bieka is breathing again but very weak”. In a village, where doctors are like a dodo, it is really tough for these villagers to decide their next course of action except wait and watch.

9.00 pm: We get a confirmation from our source that Pu Bieka “is dead” and his mortal remains will be laid to rest tomorrow morning. A mourning programme will continues throughout the night, say village elders.

10.00 pm: Village elders decided it was better not to wait till morning. Upa Bieka’s rites performed at Ngampabung cemetery by his brother and pastor – Rev Lalpienglawm. Read full report here.